At this time of year and in these heavy snowfall conditions, I occasionally like to show people what a real snow plow looks like (actually a snow thrower, I suppose, but let's not quibble here) - of course, I'm referring to the rotaries. There are a few videos out there, but in most the rotaries are at rest, moving very slowly, or involved with only a couple feet of snow, as in a railfan special or demonstration, etc.
I'm looking for one or two videos with full-depth snow, at a decent speed (15 MPH or so), and throwing a giant plume of snow (smoke optional). Steam or diesel, any vintage, anywhere is OK - Nebraska is just as good as the Sierra Nevada if it has these elements. If it's more than 2 or 3 minutes long, please indicate around which time mark you think the best action is.
I've seen one from The Discovery Channel that had a good explanation and some good clips of UP a few years ago - or maybe it was SP in the 1950's - hard to tell when the equipment is hidden by the snow.
Looking forward to viewing the nominations ! Thanks in advance.
- Paul North.
I don't know of any specific videos, a la DVD's, but a search on YouTube for "railroad rotary snow plows" will provide plenty of viewing. There's even a self-produced tour by some guy of the inside of UP 900081 at St Louis.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Well. that's the challenge - a lot of videos of varying length, quality, and depth of subject matter, and I don't have the time to view and sort through them all.
For the moment, this seems to be one of the better ones, as a co-worker today was pretty impressed by it (2 URLs for the same video - 5 mins. 53 or 54 secs. long, from the Discovery Channel):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuX4G3znpDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuX4G3znpDE&feature=youtu.be
Well, there is this;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EobXl2sbtU
:D
If you are looking for steam rotarty action, Google " machines of iron" they offer many video's but have one about the history of the moffat tunnel. They have awesome videos showings the construction of the tunnel and many steam and diesel scenes from the 30's 40's 50's and 60's. These include videos of the steam rotaries that they used to keep the line open. Its called the moffat tunnel with photography by the late great Otto Perry of the rocky mountain railroad club. Great stuff.
Here is one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCqEBdjaXpM
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